Dakota Fanning to star in 'If I Stay'

First things first. Catherine Hardwicke is no longer directing "If I Stay," the big-screen adaptation of Gayle Forman's young adult novel. She's too busy with other stuff, and Heitor Dhalia is replacing her.

Now, Variety reports Dakota Fanning is negotiations to star in the Summit film. Shauna Cross ("Whip it") wrote the screenplay, and Summit seems to like Fanning a lot (she's been starring in the "Twilight" films).

The flick follows a 17-year-old musician who, after being involved in a car crash, gets to watch her own damaged body taken from the wreck. Now she has to decide whether she wants to continue living.

A little recap: Fanning last starred in "The Runaways," in which she was great. She was good in "Push" too, but I feel she tried a tad too hard to come across as creepy in the role of Jane in the "Twilight" flicks.

Catherine Hardwicke to direct 'If I Stay'

Okay, so maybe the "Twilight" situation between Summit Entertainment and Catherine Hardwicke wasn't as bad as we all thought.

According to EW, Summit is gearing up to adapt Gayle Forman's upcoming novel "If I Stay," with Hardwicke attached to direct.

Summit has not officially commented on this yet, and EW says a deal has not been reached at this stage. So I guess it's more of a rumor then?

Anyway, "If I Stay" follows a 17-year-old musician who, after being involved in a car crash, somehow gets to watch her own damaged body taken from the wreck. Now she has to decide whether she wants to continue living.

Back in December, when talks about "New Moon" kicked off, reports suggested Summit Entertainment fired Hardwicke because she was apparently difficult to work with during the making of "Twilight."

If she will end up directing this flick for Summit, however, I take it that the situation last year was not as bad as some people made it out to be.

Hardwicke's directing credits also include "Thirteen," "Lords of Dogtown" and "The Nativity Story."

Daily news dose: Nine films competing for foreign Oscar; Summit to adapt 'If I Stay'

Here's your dose of quick news bits for Jan. 14, 2009...

• Here are the nine semifinalists for the best foreign-language Oscar: "Revanche" from Austria; "The Necessities of Life" from Canada; "Entre les murs" (The Class) from France; "Der Baader Meinhof Komplex" from Germany; "Waltz With Bashir" from Israel; "Departures" from Japan; "Tear This Heart Out" from Mexico; "Everlasting Moments" from Sweden; and "3 Monkeys" from Turkey. (Academy Awards)

• Summit Entertainment has aquired the big-screen rights to Gayle Forman's novel "If I Stay." The story focuses on a musician and her boyfriend whose lives change when they get caught up in a tragic train wreck.

• Emmanuelle Chriqui has joined the cast of Géla Babluani’s remake "13." Michael Shannon, Ben Gazzara and Alex Skarsgard also recently jumped on board. The film follows a man who gets a hold of a mysterious package with a set of instructions leading to a fortune. (The Hollywood Reporter)

• Alex Holmes is set to write "The Infiltrator" for 2929 Prods. The film is based on Robert Mazur's upcoming memoir "The Infiltrator: My Secret Life Inside the Dirty Banks Behind Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel," which follows a Customs official who had a hand in uncovering a money laundering scheme involving Escobar. (Variety)